Disbarments now the most common outcome at Disciplinary Tribunal hearings

24 July 2015

For the first time, disbarment was the most common sanction
imposed by Tribunal panels with 13 barristers being disbarred in
2014-15, according to the BSB's Enforcement Annual Report published
today.

Administrative sanctions (warnings and fines) were issued
directly by the BSB for the first time in the last year under the
new Handbook. This ensures Tribunal panels now only hear the most
serious cases where the conduct poses the greatest risk to the
public.

Embracing a more risk-based approach has been pivotal in
achieving these outcomes and has also led to a more holistic
regulatory approach in taking action to mitigate risks, according
to the report.

In 2014-2015, the time taken for Disciplinary Tribunal cases to
conclude has improved significantly compared to previous
years.

However, staff turnover within the small Assessment team of the
Professional Conduct Department (PCD), led to delays in processing
the cases in the early stages of the system. As a result, the
PCD managed to conclude or refer to disciplinary action in 69% of
cases within service standards, compared to the target of
80%.

The BSB Enforcement Annual Report published a number of key
statistics about disciplinary actions of barristers from the period
1 April 2015 to 31 March 2015:

There were 297 external complaints. These are complaints
raised by members of the public, lay clients or other legal
professionals. This is a similar figure to previous
years.

There were 144 internal complaints. These are complaints
about potential breaches the BSB becomes aware of itself.
This was a 33% increase from the previous year.

There were 70 new referrals to disciplinary action.

There were 13 disbarments and eight suspensions during
2014-15.

There were 12 cases that resulted in the imposition of
non-disciplinary administrative sanctions. These are warnings
and fines imposed by the BSB.

Work to improve the enforcement pages of the BSB website is
underway to ensure accessibility of information and transparency
for both complainants and barristers. This was an area of
work also identified in the interim report of the BSB's Independent
Observer, Isobel Leaviss.

Ms Leaviss was appointed in 2010 to provide independent
assurance that the BSB's enforcement system is operating in line
with its aims and objectives.

In her latest independent review on how complaints about
barristers are handled by the BSB, Ms Leaviss was able to provide
assurance, based on her observations, that she has "not identified
any major systemic issues or any individual cases giving rise to
serious concerns".

Commenting on the Enforcement Annual Report, the BSB's Director
of Professional Conduct Sara Jagger said: "The BSB Enforcement
Annual Report shows we are making good progress with implementing a
risk-based approach to regulation and enforcement action. We
are committed to continuing to improve the enforcement function, in
line with the BSB's overall strategic aims and the recommendations
made by the Independent Observer."

The BSB's lay Independent Observer provides independent
assurance that the BSB's enforcement system is operating in line
with its aims and objectives. The Independent Observer does not act
as an independent adjudicator and cannot respond to individual
parties about complaints. For more information, please see: http://bit.ly/1Bs361u

About the Bar Standards Board

Our mission is to regulate the Bar so as to promote high
standards of practice and safeguard clients and the public
interest. For more information about what we do visit: http://bit.ly/1gwui8t